Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106941

Laurel M. Turbin, BA, Sociomedical Sciences, Urbanism and Community Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 432 E. 13th St. #2, New York, NY 10009, (310) 600-5053, laurelmei@gmail.com

The modern history of Hawai‘i has been driven by colonialism and capitalism, and the current militarization of the islands encompasses both processes. These historical mechanisms maintain the social inequalities characteristic of contemporary Hawai‘i and influence the negative health outcomes of Native Hawaiian people, the Kanaka Maoli. Structural violence and the politics of space and territoriality in Hawai‘i have developed into a “military industrial complex” and the militarization of space that threatens both the identity and health of the Kanaka Maoli. The process of militarization began when the first U.S. warship entered Hawaiian waters in 1814 and continues presently with the recent approval of a proposal for a Stryker Brigade that calls for the U.S. military acquisition of 24,400 acres of land. The construction of the brigade will impose multitudinous environmental hazards that will disproportionately affect Hawaiian communities and threatens to continue the process of the displacement of Hawaiian people from their homes, all factors that result in a structural deprivation of general health. On a policy level, Hawaiian activist groups must continue to advocate against militarization, and on a health level, both policy makers and health providers must acknowledge public health realities from an ecosocial perspective and the need to pursue integrative and community-based health promotion programs in Native Hawaiian communities. These interventions include culture and language-based initiatives that allow Kanaka Maoli to reclaim a sense of identity and cultural pride, and traditional healing practices that address the spiritual, familial and land-based components of Hawaiian holistic health and harmony.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Identify the historical mechanisms that have influenced the current health status of Native Hawaiians in Hawai'i.
• Recognize the need to pursue contextual, integrative and community-based approaches to health promotion in Native Hawaiian communities.
• Recognize the importance of Hawaiian Health programs in the context of the historical struggles of Native Hawaiians.

Keywords: Native and Indigenous Populations, Alternative Medicine/Therapies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.